Mugen Dai
by AoSora.Minami
Summary: Hana is bullied at school. The only one there for her is her brother Kyo. Both are abused by their mother. One day a boy enrolls at the school, shaking Hana to the core. Once silent, she now speaks and is now on her way to searching for Heartless.
1. The New Kid

"Ew. Look at her. She's wearing those god-awful jeans." Snobby.

"Isn't that Minami Hana? Doesn't she..._cut_?" Dumb bitch.

"She's such a freak. And she never talks to anyone except for Shinonome-sensei. And even then she doesn't talk to her a whole lot. She's so weird." Another annoying snob.

"Hey! Minna, look away! She's glaring at us." A failed attempt at whispering on a dumb bitch's expense.

Hana sighed long and hard, tired of listening in on their stupid conversation. In her seat by the back window, though far from her classmates' gossip, she could hear  
every distasteful word they spoke. Their snobby tones, annoying comments, bull-shitting about her life. Of which, they know nothing about. It made her scarred porcelain skin crawl.

"I didn't know she could _breathe_." A few snickers.

She turned her head, gazing down at the surrounding outside environment. The cherry blossom trees were in full bloom, swaying delicately in the light morning breeze,  
petals dancing in swirls. The lush green grass, freshly cut and still dripping with dew, pointed upwards, ignoring all indication of wind. In the distance, settled above the horizon in thick, pink-orange clouds, the sun beamed a dim tangerine.

"What is she doing?"

"Class is going to start in a few minutes..."

The beauty of nature could almost bring a smile to those full, pink lips, had it not been for the distraction of her peers. But regardless of them, she still reveled in such a... comforting sight. Just the mere sway of the cherry blossom trees gave her a giddy-ness that only an artist could achieve. A small smile threatened to tug at her lips. And then the bell rang.

Loud, yet soft. Ping-ping-ping-ping. Like a sweet piano tune.

Everyone shuffled to their desks, plopping down into their seats. No one sat next to Hana. They only sat in front of her, or in a desk diagonally from hers. But she didn't care. That was there choice. And even if she could, she wouldn't make them change their minds.

"Good morning, class," Shinonome-sensei chimed, waltzing into the room adorned in a casual long green skirt and a green turtle-neck. She always liked to match, Hana noted.

"Good morning, Sensei!" everyone replied politely, except for you-know-who in the back of the classroom.

"O-genki desu ka?" It was a strangely formal day. Shinonome never usually just asks everybody how they're doing.

Hana looked away from the enthralling beauty of nature, her icy-blue gaze traveling up to her favorite teacher. She wondered if the question was directed at her, seeming as how the blond woman stared back with concern hidden away in her pretty green eyes. The girl gave her a slight nod, not too entirely sure on how to react.

"Hai, genki desu. Sensei wa?" It was annoying how they all spoke together.

Black hair flopped in her face as she looked down at her oddly styled binders. She started analyzing every curve of the circular 'I don't bite...hard' sticker situated in the bottom-left corner of her black notebook. A wave of agony suddenly washed over her, disrupting her intent staring contest with her school stuff. The pain bombarded her ribs.

"Hai, sensei mo genki desu." Shinonome-sensei's voice was low. Maybe she was facing the black-board.

'Why the fuck does it hurt?' Hana thought viciously, her arms moving in a swift movement to grip at her sides. The pain had never been this bad. The beating she received last night hadn't been bad enough to feel like, hours later, someone just shot her with a fucking AK-47. And it wouldn't end. 'Why won't it stop?'

Everyone just ignored her, listening to Shinonome and only Shinonome as she introduced someone to the class.

Hana didn't care. The horrible fire burning in her sides and ribs brought a stinging notification that tears were soon to roll off of her eye-lashes. 'It hurts...It hurts.' She hunched over, still holding herself, her shoulder-length black hair hiding her face as the tears finally spilled over. 'Why won't it go away?'

"Aoyagi Ritsuka, please take the seat in the back next to Hana," Shinonome said, probably giving whoever the fuck the new kid was a shut-eyed smile.

"Hai." Cold, passive, dark.

And the pain, the exploding agony, seemed to melt away. Finally. There was no lingering throb. It was entirely gone. 'What the fuck?' She removed her arms and stared at her small hands, resting her head on the desk as she did so. They were smooth and pretty, porcelain and nimble, delicate and soft. That baffled her, considering how on the top-sides there were thick gauz bandages secured onto small stab wounds.

With a shaky sigh, she lifted her head, ssat in her regular slump, and glared at nothing in particular.

"Hey, you. Lend me your book," said that unfamiliar voice.

Hana gave him a quick glance, taking in his unfamiliar appearance. He had tousled dark hair, mysterious dark eyes, and black cat features to go along. In other words, he was plain. But... in an odd way, kind of cute. She mentally slapped herself in the forehead, giving him a slight nod to take her book. It's not like she needed it anyway.

"You don't talk much, do you?" He sounded weird... Like he was bored but interested at the same time.

She shook her head. 'Why am I even acknowledging him? All he's gonna do is use me.' She was still facing him, even though her eyes drifted elsewhere. 'Keep eye-contact and he'll use it to keep talking. Don't keep eye-contact and he'll leave you alone.'

"Why do you have a giant bandage on your cheek?"

'Oh no. He did not just ask me that. Oh my god. What do I tell him? That my mom fucks me up every night? Oh hell no.' Hana blinked profusely, shifting her gaze back to him, ignoring the lecture. He wasn't looking back at her, seemingly engrossed in the school book. But, then again, he's probably only looking at it so that he won't get in trouble.

For the first time, she noticed that he, too, had a bandage clinging to his cheek. "W...why...do...y...you?" she replied quietly, her voice harsh and raspy, like she hasn't used it in a while. In all honesty, she hasn't spoken a single word in two months. And it hurt to speak.

"..." The boy was silent for a second or two, like he was surprised and probably recalculating. "I asked you first."

"W...why should I tell you, someone I don't know?" Hana retorted, getting the hang of talking. It still hurt. Hell, it fucking burned. And it was still quiet and rough, but she almost wanted to keep going.

He had no answer. His face was cold and distant. Just like hers. "Your name's Hana, ne?"

Always switching subjects. 'I don't like that.' "Ne. What's...yours?" She gave up on silence. It was a conscious decission that she didn't want to make. But there was something about this boy that made her want to talk again.

"Ritsuka," he replied coolly.

A sigh. Hana faced front, turning her head to look out the window again. Her tail curled around her waist, the fur somewhat long and warm. It was white and soft like bunny fur. As were her ears, soft and white.

That never made sense to her. How could her hair be black and her catty features be white? Maybe it was a mutation of the recessive genes in her family. She shrugged mentally, eyeing a brown sparrow fly away from its nest that hid in the crook of a branch in the closest cherry blossom tree.

Her cheek stung briefly, causing her to look away. Her fingers found their way up to the bandage, prodding gently as if to massage and comfort. That only made it worse.

"Okay, everyone. Partner up and discuss the lesson," Shinonome-sensei chimed, the chalk tapping on the black-board soon after.

And immediately after she said that, everyone burst into small talking groups.

"Ew. The new kid tried talking to Hana."

"I know. Does that make him a freak, too?"

"Uh... duh! Who would wanna talk to that stupid freak?"

"Why are you guys so mean? Yuiko thinks you're being mean."

"Oh, shut up, Yuiko."

Hana did her best to ignore it. What they were doing to Yuiko wasn't fair, she'd admit, but she didn't want it to bother her.

"Hey, Ritsuka-kun?" Yuiko asked softly. She must've detatched herself from that group. Good girl.

"What?" Ritsuka gave the pig-tailed pinkette an annoyed response.

"Can Yuiko work with you?" Why was Yuiko so sweet?

Hana glanced at the two, briefly, before deciding that she wanted to write something down. As she flipped through the pages of her notebook, she finally found her special event page. Searching the top of her desk for a pencil, she grinned mentally and read each event so far.

**First line:** I was born! November 2nd.

**Second line:** And then I was hospitalized because I supposedly had a tumor! November 30th.

**Third line:** I didn't really have a tumor. Stupid doctors... And my dad ditched us for some chick he met on the internet. December 19th.

**Fourth line:** I learned to walk! May 3rd.

That's not how she remembered the 'ultra special event' page... Oh well. On the fifth line, she scribbled down what happened in a mere five minutes. 'Started talking again, met the new kid, and my body hurts.' She even added in a face that was supposed to stand for distress. But it looked like a deformed square instead.

"Hey, Hana. You wanna work with us?" Yuiko again.

As if she were a dear in head-lights, her head snapped up and she stared, wide-eyed, at Ritsuka and Yuiko. She felt...strange. 'Calm yourself, chica.' She wasn't sure on how to react. That's the second time in one class period. Today was a really strange day.

"Well?" Rituska didn't look thrilled to be working with anyone. And Yuiko was just smiling like a mad-woman. That girl was so awkward. But at least she was nice.

"Uh..." Hana nodded, watching the blond pull up a desk and plopping back down into it, still smiling like a mad-woman.

"Do you have a cell phone, Ritsuka?" Yuiko asked, seemingly nervous but happy all at the same time.

He looked at the textbook he borrowed from Hana, almost like he was ignoring the poor, naive pinkette. "Nope. I don't"

Hana watched the two intently, waiting for an oppurtunity to answer a question. She was enthralled. It was like a game. A very... weird one, but a game nonetheless. And she wanted to participate.

"Oh... Well then... Where do you go for cram school?" She was trying so hard.

"I don't." He was so not.

"Oh... Who do you like in Morning Musume? Yuiko likes Goto Maki. Goma-chan's so cute."

"I can't tell them apart."

Hana decided to speak after analyzing their conversation. "I like Goma-chan, too. ^_^" Her voice needed some maintenance, but she still went on. "I have a cell phone, too. But I don't go to cram school."

Everyone, Shinonome and the whole class, finally caught on to the white-eared girl and stared. Just stared. Except for Ritsuka.

"So she _can_ talk," someone jeered.

**Lunch**

Hana held the spoon in her fingers, occasionally twirling it or poking at the rice in her bento box. No hunger pangs. Not today. Even if she was hungry, it's not like she has enough to eat. So why bother? All that fills the little squares in her bento was a spoonful or two of rice and three pieces of egg.

Her mother had been trying to limit the ammount of food she ate. And that's okay. 'I'm never hungry anyways.' Hana hasn't eaten anything in two days straight. Not because she was being starved, not because she wasn't hungry. But because she felt that her twin should eat more.

Kyo was just as reluctant to eat. Maybe because their mother was always beating him, too. Or, maybe he was depressed or something. He refused to eat any more than Hana ate. And that was little to nothing at all.

She never noticed any markings on him, though. Maybe it was a different kind of beating. But what other kind is there besides violence? She shrugged, propping up an elbow on her desk and leaning into her palm.

Ritsuka still sat in his desk, two feet away, eating blankly as if he were deep in thought. He seemed... far away, distant. Like he wasn't there at all.

"Hey," Hana started, unsure of what to say next due to the cold look he gave her. "Can I... eat with you?" He just shrugged, returning to his lunch without giving her so much as another glance.

With a sigh, she scooted her desk a bit closer. 'Maybe I should talk to him?' Out of child-like curiosity, she reached up an arm, fingers feeling for the soft bunny-likeness of Ritsuka's ears. She groped them, tugged them, rubbed them, poked them. And then, finally, she let her hand fall back to her lap when she noticed the annoyed look the boy gave her. "Sorry. You're ears...are just...really soft." Hana  
gave him a tiny, almost unnoticable smile.

"Thanks." It was like he didn't care.

And that was another thing that the two had in common, she noted. She didn't care much about anything nor did she really care about why or even that she didnt care. Why should she? If it doesn't directly effect her, hurt her, blah blah blah, what have you, she could care less about it.

Her tail lashed around, searching for her hands. A light blush flooded her cheeks. "Stupid uncontrollable tail!" she growled, getting a slight chuckle from her lunch partner. "Don't laugh at me! I hate that!" she hissed on.

She was serious. No matter how hard she tried to ignore it all, there was always a feeling that stuck to her gut. No matter if it were subconsciousor conscious, it was there. People could talk all the shit and gossip they wanted. But if they laughed at her... Let's just say it hurt her. Really bad. "I hate that..."

'Don't cry, missy! Don'tcry!' Her eyes stung, but she somehow managed to hold it all back.


	2. Who?

The wind barely made a sound as it softly blew through Hana's black hair, gently tickling her ears. Pillowy white clouds passed calmly overhead, giving barely a moment's shade to the girl who stood just in front of the school gates.

She took in the cherry blossom scent of nature, catching a few hints of the sea. Such a beautiful smell. How could only one person enjoy a beautiful sight such as this alone?

Kyo was still in class, probably trying to ignore what his classmates were saying about him. It was very hard for him to do something like that; ignore. Some of the things that those other kids said about both himself and Hana were just... disgusting and hurtful and sincere.

A sigh. 'Kyo better come outside. I don't like being outside without him.'

Smoke drifted on the breeze.

Hana blinked, once, twice, and turned her head, searching violently for the source of the grey shroud. Lush gingko trees lined the streets. Pink cherry blossoms hid behind the school gates. And then she saw a man standing in the midst of the swaying nature.

The first thing she noticed was that he didn't have ears.

'He's a grown-up!'

His hair was long and blond. Really long, for a guy; he wore a tan fur coat and white slacks. Glasses shielded his blue eyes from the wind. This man looked like he had money. And a lot of it. At least, it looked like he did. He stood maybe six feet away, taking long drags on his cigarette, blowing out the smoke like it was nothing.

She felt like a reject standing that close to him. The black skinnies that were clinging to her legs had a few tears on the thighs and knees, a bit worn. And her purple-and-black striped hoodie hung very loosely on her like it was too big. Now she [i]really[/i] didn't want to be alone with this guy. If Kyo was out here, then she wouldn't feel so ugly.

Hana wondered who he was, shoving the ugly thought to the inner recesses of her mind. "Who...?" Her voice came out strangled and raspy, the way it had been since earlier.

The man blinked, gazing back at her boredly. "Soubi." Plain. Flat. Simple. Blunt. He quirked an eyebrow at the small girl, seemingly expectant as he took another drag on his cigarette.

Her white ears twitched and tilted backwards. She didn't like that. For some reason, she's always hated it when people looked at her like they wanted something from her. It's not like she had anything to give... "H-Hana..." she mumbled harshly. Her throat burned.

Soubi gave her a slight nod, letting her know that he acknowledged what she said, and looked away. Yet another drag on his cigarette.

"Why...?" She decided to limit herself to one word questions and responses. That way, she could still talk but not enough to hurt.

The man turned back to her again. "I'm waiting." He seemed so cold. Like he wasn't interested in her curiosity.

"For...?"

"Ritsuka."

Hana brightened at that. Ritsuka was the boy with really soft ears. And he was also the first person, other than Kyo, to talk to her like a somewhat normal person. On top of that, he even got her to reply. She wanted to smile at the fact. "I know him. :3" she stated, a lighter tone in her voice.

Soubi just stared at her for a moment. "Is he in your class?"

"Hai," Hana chirped, a slight grin edging onto her face. "I sit..." she began, a rough cough ravaging her throat, "next to him." It hurt her so bad to cough like that. In between short breaths, sharp coughs burned at her lungs and stabbed at her throat, earning her a slightly concerned look from Soubi. She kept coughing harshly.

"Really?" he asked, verbally ignoring her eruption, which had stopped abruptly. "What happened to your cheek?"

Regaining her composure, shocked as to why her throat had stopped burning, she straightened out her hair and tried searching for words. "Mhmm." That was her answer to his first question. "What was...?"

"I asked what had happened to your cheek." Somehow, this Soubi guy knew exactly what the other half of her questions were.

But did he seriously ask that? Of all the things to ask, he just had to ask [b]that[/b]. How could she answer that? Glancing away, she heard the quick footsteps of her classmates. "Fell." She felt almost ashamed of lying. But she couldn't just straight-up tell the stranger her mother makes a habit of beating her to near death every day. No sir.

"Hey, who's that guy?"

"Is he a pedophile?"

"Maybe he's gonna..."

"Ew. That'd be weird. I hope it happens. Especially if it happens to Hana."

At that, Hana gazed somberly at her small feet. Black Converse littered with silver Sharpie swirls and stars and band names. Silver laces criss-crossed and tied, the loops tucked into the inside of her shoes. She stood there, analyzing the black rubber covering her toes, trying to ignore the nagging heartache. Then... She snapped upwards, having heard quick footsteps come up to her and then stop abruptly.

"Hana, who's that?" Cold. Distant. Familiar. Ritsuka had waltzed onto the scene, holding in place a dangerous expression. His breathing was labored and his chest was rising and falling quickly, like he had been running. Not only that, but he was fuming, and maybe there was a little bit of saline lining his eyes.

She couldn't find the correct answer. All she could think about was why he might be upset.

"Agatsuma Soubi," the blond man replied, a smile in his deep voice. Hana glanced up at him, actually seeing the smile that expressed itself in his response. He would smile for Ritsuka, but not for her? She hated that- divided affection. It ripped her apart no matter who made the gesture.

With a long sigh, she grimaced sadly, and prepared herself to turn and head down the street towards home. There was no use for her here. She didn't want to stick around somewhere she wasn't wanted or needed. Almost, but not quite, she took the first step.

"Hana, don't leave," Ritsuka hissed, his tail lashing and bushing out like an actual cat's, his ears swiveling backwards as he snarled.


End file.
